Three high schools in Nebraska and South Dakota earn cash prizes in the Teen Safe Driver Pledge program sponsored by American Family Insurance

Madison, Wis. (April 14, 2010) — In a mere 14 weeks, a Nebraska high school's teenage drivers and their parents achieved 100 percent participation in the Teen Safe Driver Pledge Program. That exceptional effort earned their school $25,000, and two South Dakota high schools garnered $10,000 and $5,000 for their outstanding performances.

More than 400 high schools in 18 states participated in the Teen Safe Driver Pledge, an online driver safety agreement between parents and teenage drivers that establishes safe driving expectations. Each school earned an automatic cash prize of about $900 from program sponsor American Family Insurance, in addition to vying for larger cash prizes based on each school's participation rate.

"Every school was a winner simply by participating in the program," said Lisa Bacus, American Family's marketing vice president. "Whether a school ended up with 100 percent or 10 percent participation, the program helped young drivers and their parents to agree upon expectations for responsible driving behavior."

Pleasanton (Neb.) High School led the way with a 100 percent participation rate, earning the first place prize of $25,000. Close behind was Armour (S.D.) High School, with a participation rate of 96.6 percent and a check for $10,000. Lake Preston (S.D.) High School earned $5,000 for an 87.7 percent participation rate.

Driver safety information was also presented at basketball games and with the game programs for other winter sports. In addition, individual participants qualified for prize drawings, including Nintendo Wiis, iPod Shuffles and iTunes gift cards.

The new program supplements American Family Insurance's existing Teen Safe Driver Program, which is available at no cost to all American Family Insurance auto insurance customers who have beginning drivers in their household.

Introduced in 2007 in association with DriveCam Inc., the Teen Safe Driver Program provides teens and their parents an in-vehicle video and audio unit that captures risky driving behaviors. Parents log in to www.teensafedriver.com to view the driving report card, video events and coaching tips, including objective, third-party assessment of the teen driver's driving performance compared with other teens.